Growing Down
by TwilightFairy928
Summary: When Xemnas finds out that he, along with the rest of Organization 13, have been turned into kids, he finds a babysitter by the name of Xarvis.
1. Growing Down

-Growing Down-

Xemnas groaned, then slowly opened his eyes. It was morning. Early morning. Great. Another day to spend giving out orders to whoever, telling Demyx to stop whining and do his job, among other things. At least Saix isn't as aggravating. And then there was Kingdom Hearts, he thought, as he got up and walked over to the bathroom.

He stopped in front of the sink, turned the water on, and continued his thoughts on Kingdom Hearts. Getting enough hearts was tricky. He splashed some water on his face, then dried it off with a nearby towel. He then hung the towel back on the rack. It seemed much... taller.

He stared at the rack for a few seconds curiously, then turned to his mirror. Xemnas stood there, gaping at his reflection, which stared wide-eyed back at him.

Or at least Xemnas thought it was him.

He tested it by waving his hands back and forth, and anything else he could think of. Yes, this really was his reflection. He sighed as he examined the young, possibly teenage, boy in the mirror.

His clothes seemed to fit the same, which was strange to him, because he expected that they would be too big. There would have to be a meeting about this...

He walked out of his room and hurried to see Saix. But, as he turned a corner he discovered something he hadn't expected- Saix appeared younger, too. What was going on? He had to find out. Saix turned around and noticed him.

"Superior," he addressed him in a higher voice, looking Xemnas up and down, "We have... a problem."

"Yes... Tell everyone to come to the meeting room," Xemnas commanded. Saix nodded, and left. When everyone had arrived, he noticed that the same thing had happened to every one of them, too. Demyx, who seemed to be about eleven or twelve, was trying to hide the fact that he crying out of fear. Roxas, Xemnas could tell by his expression, was confused about the whole situation. The youngest member of Organization 13 appeared to be about nine or ten. Many of the others were annoyed with it. Vexen, on the other hand, seemed pleased with his now twenty or so appearance.

Xemnas announced the situation, though he received some pretty weird looks, as they could very well tell what was going on.

"You could find a babysitter, in case this gets too serious," Marluxia suggested. The murmur of talk rose, as they all agreed to this idea. Even Xemnas agreed to this. So, he left, and soon returned with a babysitter. This man was from Twilight Town, and had plenty of experience with children. He was forty-seven, and had grown children of his own. His name was Xarvis. Marluxia seemed to melt at the sound of the name.

"What's the matter with you?" Larxene asked, with Axel and Roxas standing near her, listening for the answer.

"Let's just say..." he began, "that I wish Xemnas had found someone else."

"Why?" Demyx asked, who had also been listening.

"I'd rather not say..." he replied.

"Did you get into a fight with guy or something?" Axel asked, a sly smile across his face.

"And now your scared to face him again because you lost?" Roxas dared to add.

"Actually... You _could_ say that," Marluxia answered. The others gave him a confused look, but left it at that.

--

Sure enough, the next morning, they were all younger. Fortunately, Xarvis knew how to take care of thirteen kids, somehow.

"How _many_ kids _did_ he have, anyway?" Larxene wondered aloud.

"It's probably not how many children he himself had _in his family,_ but how many _he took care of,_ including others' children," Zexion reasoned.

"I don't know about this dude," Xigbar said, "what with his blackish-brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and that eye patch."

"Um... Xigbar?" Axel said.

"Yeah?"

"That's sounds kind of like _you," _he pointed out.

"So? It doesn't look as good on _him,"_ Xigbar replied.

"I _do_ wonder how he managed to get that eye patch, though," Luxord said, joining the conversation. Marluxia shifted back and forth restlessly.

"Hey, uh, Marly?" Axel asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Hm?! What?!" Marluxia replied, looking up, alarmed, "Oh... it's... nothing."

"Are you sure?" Roxas said, "Because you don't look so good."

"Yeah, you look kinda pale," Axel added.

"It's nothing, really!" he assured them.

"Yeah, right," Larxene said to him. Marluxia jerked up his hood, ignoring her, as Xarvis walked into the room.

"Hello!" he greeted them cheerfully, "How are you today?"

"Good!" Demyx happily answered, not noticing the fact that he was the _only _one _to_ answer. Xarvis sighed, then, smiling lightly, patted Demyx on the head. The little boy was only about seven or eight, now, and slightly small for his age. Marluxia quietly groaned, as to not draw attention to himself. He wished that he wasn't the only with his hood up. But thankfully, Xarvis didn't notice him. He silently crept to a nearby corner. It was near Xemnas and Saix, much to his disliking, but, at least it was away from their new babysitter.

"_Seriously,_ Marly," a voice said beside him, causing him to jump, "what _is_ _wrong_ with you?!"

Seeing that it was Axel, Marluxia pressed a finger to his lips and whispered, "Not so loud!"

"Why are you hiding from him?" Roxas, who was standing next to Axel, pestered him.

"I have my reasons," he replied, "Reasons that I _don't_ want to share."

"Fine, _fine,"_ Axel mumbled, "Have it _your_ way..." The day continued, and Marluxia managed to keep his distance from the new babysitter. But soon, unfortunately, it was time for bed. Xarvis walked to each bed, telling each 'good night', and water if they wanted it. He eventually arrived at Marluxia's bed.

"What's the matter?" he asked him gently, seeing that the boy was curled deep underneath his sheets, "Do you not feel well?"

"I'm fine!" the mass of sheets responded nervously.

"Are you sure...? I could get you some water, if you want," he suggested.

"No! No, that's O.K., I'm good to go!" Marluxia said quickly.

"Alright, then, if you're sure," Xarvis sighed, turning to leave. He hadn't seen this boy's face much at all, and when he _did_ see him, it was only a glance. With one last look around the room, he smiled, glad to see them all- except one- content. He couldn't help but feel concerned about the mysterious boy, but, he left, planning to check in on them later that night anyway.

In the morning, they were each about six to ten years old, and were all very restless. They wanted something to do.

"Mr. Xarvis?" Xigbar asked timidly, "Can we go to the beach today?"

So, Xarvis announced that he would take them to the beach after breakfast. Most of them cheered. Xemnas was almost as emotionless as ever, along with Saix, and a few others. Xarvis sighed, laughed, and shook his head.

"_This_ will be fun," he mumbled to himself.


	2. Xigbar Wants To Go To The Beach

-Xigbar Wants To Go To The Beach-

After Xarvis called one of his sons- Alexander- to help, and he arrived, they left for the beach near Twilight Town. Unlike the rest of that world, the sky was blue. They all huddled under the umbrella, which underneath there was a few towels spread out. They each waited for their turn to have sunscreen rubbed on them, though some could still do that on their own. Those were the ones who were most eager to leave, so far.

"Can we make sand castles?!" Lexaeus asked.

"Sure, I brought a few tools that you you can use," Xarvis replied, rubbing sunscreen on Demyx, telling him, "Hold still! If you don't, I'll never be able to get this sunscreen on you!" Demyx obediently tried his best to hold still, as excited as he was to play in the water.

"_I_ want to get in the _water!"_ Xigbar whined.

"_Patience, _Xigbar," Xarvis said. Alexander looked over to see one more child that needed sunscreen.

"Come here," he called, beckoning to him. The boy reluctantly walked over to him, trying to hide behind his pink hair.

"Hey, there," he said to the shy little boy, "I'm gonna put some sunscreen on you, so you can go play with your little friends, alright?" He nodded, showing that he understood.

"My name is Alexander, but you can call me Alex. What's your name?"

"Marluxia."

Alex helped him rub on the sunscreen, until only Marluxia's face was left.

"Alright, Marluxia, you can't hide behind your hair forever," he laughed, "Come on! Let me see your face!" Slowly, the boy removed his layered, pink hair from in front of his face. Alex's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened.

"Rauliam?" he whispered. Marluxia stared at his feet and nodded.

"But please- _please-_ don't say anything!" he pleaded, his hands together.

"You're my _brother, Raul._ Dad's been worried sick about you!" Alex replied.

"He... has?" Marluxia asked blankly.

"Yeah," Alex said, biting his lower lip.

--

"Whoa! Yeah!" Xigbar cried, riding the smaller waves on a little board. Axel was running away from the waves with Roxas, Lexaeus was making sand castles with Zexion, Vexen was examining some sea life- namely, a starfish- that had washed on shore, with others playing, too.

"Hey, Demy, could ya make the waves bigger for me?" Xigbar called to Demyx, who was playing in the more shallow water.

"O.K.!" he called back. He raised his arms, and the wave lifted higher, as well. It became bigger and bigger, until it finally came crashing down. To their annoyance, Lexaeus and Zexion's sand castle was washed away, as well as the starfish that Vexen was studying. Larxene appeared as if she wanted to shock Demyx the next time he came anywhere _near _her.

"Xigbar!" Alex and Xarvis exclaimed simultaneously. Alex dashed down to where he was laying face down, and lifted him up into his arms.

"Xigbar?! Are you alright?!" he asked, terrified, though the boy's eye was open, and he was smiling.

"Hey, Demyx?" Xigbar called, "I didn't mean _that_ big."

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"_ Demyx apologized, almost crying.

"Aw, it's alright! I'm fine, and that was kinda fun, anyway," he replied. Xarvis and Alex sighed with relief. Suddenly, Xarvis felt someone tugging on his sleeve. He turned around to see Axel and Roxas staring at him with pleading eyes.

"Um... Could we get some ice cream?" Axel asked.

"Please?" Roxas added. Xarvis smiled gently down at them.

"I suppose so," he sighed.

"Yay!" they exclaimed, turning toward one another.

--

Soon, they were all contently eating ice cream on the beach.

"Hey, Roxas?" Axel said.

"Yeah?" Roxas replied.

"Why do you think it's always twilight in Twilight Town?" he asked.

"Because... the town's named Twilight Town?" his friend guessed.

"Well, I mean, how come there's no morning, or night, or anything like that, it's just twilight. All the time," Axel tried to explain.

"I dunno," Roxas simply replied, licking his ice cream, then said, "Aw... my ice cream's melting..."

"Yeah, mine too," the red head replied, then pointed to Vexen, saying, "Ya know, that's just not fair. Vexen can always keep his ice cream cold. I couldn't keep mine cold if I really wanted too. Which I do." They both started to laugh.

"Man, I want to go back out on the water..." Xigbar complained to Demyx, "Think you could make some more big waves?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Demyx told him, "I don't want to get into trouble." He then groaned, bent over, and clutched his stomach.

"What's wrong, Demyx?" Xarvis asked, worried about him.

"I don't feel too good," he replied.

"What hurts?" Xarvis asked him.

"It hurts, here- really badly," the little blond said, pointing to his stomach.

"Uh-oh... This isn't good," Alex said.

"Round up the others, and help me bring them back home" Xarvis ordered. Alex nodded, and went to gather the others. Soon, they were back at The World That Never Was. When they had all thirteen kids ready for bed, Xarvis stayed with Demyx, next to his bed.

This was going to be a _long_ night.


	3. Demyx Is Sick

-Demyx Is Sick-

Xarvis sighed, watching as the little boy, now only about four, threw up again into the toilet. He cried pathetically, which hurt Xarvis to watch. He handed the little blond a cup of water. Demyx took it and eagerly drank half of it's contents. He handed it back, and with a whimper, he began throwing up- again.

After some time, Xarvis finally asked, "Do you think you can eat a little something, buddy?" Demyx shook his head, the tears riding down his cheeks. The man gently wiped them away as the blond yawned.

"You're so tired, aren't you?" he gently said. Demyx looked up at him, dazed. His eyes began to cross.

"Come here..." Xarvis told him, sitting down on the bathroom floor. He grabbed a towel, stretched out his arms, and Demyx gladly sat down and curled up on his lap. The man wrapped him up, using the towel to keep him warm and comfortable. The little boy fell asleep almost immediately in his arms. He smiled to see that Demyx now looked peaceful.

Soon, morning came, and Xarvis found himself being shaken awake by the shoulder.

"Good morning!" Demyx sang happily.

"Good morning," Xarvis replied, realizing he was still leaning against cabinets below the sink, "Are you feeling better? You look better."

"I guess... My tummy still kinda hurts..." he honestly replied, scrunching his face up.

"Well... Do you want something to eat, now?" Xarvis asked.

"I guess so... well... O.K." Demyx decided.

"Oh, good," he sighed.

Demyx was served breakfast in bed.

Once he was finished, he asked, "Can I play my Sitar, now?"

"Not yet," Xarvis told him, suppressing a laugh when Demyx pouted.

"Now, don't you give me that look," he said, "You need to wait until you're better."

It was still early, so the other little Organization members still hadn't had their breakfast...


	4. Vexen's Cereal Experiment

-Vexen's Cereal Experiment-

Vexen woke up early in the morning with a yawn. He rolled over, and fell out of bed.

"Oh!" he cried, but the comforter broke his fall. He crawled out from the wad of sheets, and wondered how old he looked to be now. He created an ice patch on the floor, and gazed into it. He could a little boy with long, blond hair staring back at him. He assumed that he was about five, now. He wondered how much more he was going to shrink.

With sigh, he got to his feet, and decided that he wanted to have breakfast. He took a step forward, and- His feet flew out from under him, and he fell hard on the ice.

"Ow..." Vexen groaned, standing back up, manging to make to the door and out. Next, he came to the kitchen. He pulled out a plastic bowl from a shelf that could reach, and went to grab a chair, in order to get the cereal, as it _was_ in a very cabinet, or so he thought. Normally, he could reach it, but because of his new small body, it was going to be more complicated than that. He pushed the chair in front of the cabinet, and climbed up. Vexen reached out to the door to open as best as he could, but it was no use, he just couldn't reach it.

"What are you doing?" a voice said behind him. It startled him so much that he fell of the chair with a loud 'Thud!' Vexen spun around once he was back on his feet, but could see no one. He looked around, confused.

"Up here!" the voice called playfully. He looked up to see Xigbar, standing on the ceiling, his arms crossed.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to notice," he said with a smirk, then repeated what are you doing?"

"I was trying to reach the cereal," Vexen replied flatly.

"Well, if you need help, I can help you," he suggested, crossing his arms, "Which one do you want?"

"The one with the marshmallows," Vexen replied.

"O.K..." Xigbar said, opening the cabinet and pulling out the cereal.

"Look out below!" he called, dropping it down.

"Hey, watch out!" Vexen called back. He picked up the box and placed it on the table. He then opened a nearby drawer, pulled out a spoon, and placed it on the table also. Xigbar watched as he sat down and poured the cereal out and into the bowl.

"Aren't you gonna put milk in it?" Xigbar asked him.

"That's what I was going to do next," Vexen answered, walking over and opening the refrigerator. He pulled out the milk, which, thankfully was on a low shelf, and was not very full. With a grunt, he managed to lift it onto the table. He opened it and poured into the bowl some of it's contents. However, he was not content with _just_ milk. So, putting up the milk, he pulled out the chocolate milk, and poured some into his bowl. But he _still_ wasn't satisfied, and, putting the chocolate milk back, he pulled out a bottle of orange soda.

"_What are you doing?!" _Xigbar exclaimed.

"What? I like orange soda. So, I'm going to try it with my cereal. I trying to _experiment,"_ Vexen said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"So you're like, five or six, and you're still a scientist, or something?" the other said. Ignoring him, Vexen tried to open the bottle, but was unable to so. Aggravated, he shook it. Fizz formed on the top. Liking this reaction, he shook it again, and again. Finally, he tried to open it, and did, unfortunately for poor Xigbar, who was standing directly above him. The soda exploded out of the bottle and soaked both boys.

"I'm telling!" Xigbar screamed. Alex ran into the room.

"What's going on-?!" he exclaimed, and his eyes widened, "What in the world did you _do?!_ Go to the bathroom- both of you- where I can clean you up, and _stay_ in there!" He growled under his breath in frustration, as the two ran off. Just then, he turned around to see Axel, crying.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, bending down to his height.

"I-I'm sorry!" he sobbed, "B-but, I-I burned the c-curtains!"

"You _what?!"_


	5. Axel Burns The Curtains

-Axel Burns The Curtains-

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down," Alex tried to comfort the boy, _"What_ happened?"

"Well... see- I was trying to show something to Roxas- you know, out the window? Well, um- So I pointed at it, and there was, like, this fire that I, um, shot from my finger, see?" Axel held up his finger, "This one here? So, I, uh... kinda... burned the curtains." he finished, taking a deep breath. Alex blinked and stared at him blankly.

"Y-you... _what?!" _Alex repeated, unable to process what he had just heard.

_"I. Burned. The. Curtains,"_ the little red head said slowly, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling, saying, "Come _on!_ Hurry!" The confused young man followed him. He noticed that he only had to walk to keep up with the jogging, frantic Axel. Soon, they reached the place that the curtains were. The small red head stopped abruptly.

"Where'd the fire go?" he asked blankly. Alex followed his gaze to see that the curtains were covered in frost.

"Vexen..." Alex mumbled, with a half smile.

"Uh... what... are you talking about?" Axel asked timidly.

"I sent Vexen and Xigbar to the bathroom for me to clean them up, since they made a really big mess," he explained, "...and this is on the way to the bathroom. Vexen must have put out the fire."

"Well... how'd he get by without me seeing him? 'Cause I didn't see him after I burned the curtains... and... I'm _really_ sorry..." Axel said, lowering his head.

"It's alright. You probably are losing control of your powers, because you're so little now. I'm sure that you didn't _mean_ to..." Alex replied gently, then, his voice becoming stern, added, "You _didn't_ burn the curtains on _purpose,_ did you, Axel?" The little boy shook his head quickly.

"Nuh-uh. I mean- no. I-I mean, u-uh, _no sir,"_ he replied nervously, his face turning as red as his hair, then whispered, "Did I say that right?" Alex smiled, and almost laughed at the look on his face.

"It's _good_ that you remembered to be polite!" he replied happily. Axel smiled weakly up at him, relieved that Alex wasn't mad at him.

"So... um... can you help me not burn stuff?" Axel asked him.

"Let's go see my dad. He'll probably know what to do," Alex suggested, "He said that he was working on something for this kind of problem anyway, though I don't what it is, yet."

"O.K.!" Axel said happily.

"Come on, let's go!" he said, taking the little boy by the hand.

--

Vexen sighed, slouching on the stool he was sitting on.

"Do you think he'll be mad at me for coming out of the bathroom to put out that fire? Roxas _was_ screaming something about fire, when he was running down the hall," he reasoned.

"Nah," Xigbar replied, "I bet he's gonna be really happy that you did that."

"You really think so? 'Cause, I _really_ don't want him to be mad at me for that," Vexen sighed again.

"Yeah! I think that he's not gonna be mad at you at all for stopping the castle from burning to the ground," he said, "But Axel, on the other hand... Ooh, I betcha he's gonna be in _so_ much trouble!"

--

Marluxia watched as Alex passed by with Axel.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked.

"Axel burned the curtains, so I'm taking him to dad," Alex replied, not stopping. Marluxia gasped.

"I hope he didn't burn my garden, too...!" he said, and ran off to check on his garden.


	6. Marluxia's Garden

-Marluxia's Garden-

Marluxia turned a corner so quickly trying to run to check on his garden that he slid across the floor and fell. Standing up and shaking of the painful stinging feeling throughout his now small body, he started to run again. Soon, he reached the entrance to his green house. He stretched his arm up as high as he could, and grasped the doorknob. He slowly turned it, and when the door finally opened, he walked in. With a sigh of relief, he could see that his brightly colored garden was healthy, and fortunately, _not_ burned.

"I'm _so_ glad Axel wasn't in here instead..." he sighed. He walked over to a nearby stool, and dragged it to the table where his watering can was. He climbed up on the stool, and grasped the empty watering can. Stepping back down, he carried it over to a hose and filled it. Once it was full, he picked it up with a grunt, since it was now very heavy. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but since he had decreased in age so much, the task had become much more difficult. Marluxia then began watering as many plants as he possibly could reach- or until he became too tired. But, he enjoyed tending to his garden. He eventually became absorbed in doing this, and didn't notice when someone _else_ strode in.

"Hello," someone greeted him. Marluxia gasped and spun around.

"Who-" he began, then, seeing who it was, he grabbed his hood and attempted to pull it up over his face, nearly falling off the stool. But, the man stopped him.

"Wait..." Xarvis said quietly, "Don't- I know who you are. There's no need for that."

"You- you know...? B-but I told Alex-" he stuttered.

"Alex didn't say a thing about you," the man replied.

"But how-? How did you-? But-?" Marluxia tried to speak, but Xarvis gently placed a hand over the little boy's mouth.

"Shh..." he whispered, pressing a finger to his lips, "I figured it out myself."

"Mmph?" Marluxia said, but his voice was muffled by Xarvis' hand.

"What? You didn't think I could figure this out for myself? I could tell that it was you... Rauliam. But not at first," he explained.

"Mmm..." the small boy replied, "Mmph?"

_"Yes, yes, _you _did_ do a pretty good job hiding at first," he admitted, "But, eventually it wasn't good enough. I _would_ like to know, though: why did you want to hide away from me in the first place?" Xarvis removed his hand from over Marluxia's mouth.

"Well... Are you still mad at me?" Marluxia asked, his eyes becoming enormous.

"No... I'm just glad to see that you're safe. After I heard- and saw- that those strange creatures were attacking everyone, I was worried..." Xarvis replied.

"You _were?!_ er... Do you mean the heartless?"

"Is _that _what those creatures are called? Well, I wondered where you had gone after you left..." he continued, then smiled, "But here you are, safe and sound! And in another world! I still wonder how you managed to do that." Marluxia smiled and shrugged.

"Here... let me help you water these," Xarvis offered. With this man's help, Marluxia's garden was watered in no time. Xarvis eventually said goodbye and left, to attend to other things. He walked down one of the long hallways, and as he was on his way, he noticed Zexion passing by, holding a small pile of books.

"Hello, Zexion!" he called. The little blue haired boy looked up toward him.

"Hello," he replied.

"What are you up to?" Xarvis inquired, curious.

"Oh... I'm just going to my library..." he answered.

"Really? You have a library?"

"Yeah! You wanna see it?"

"Okay..."

"Alright! It's just this way!" Zexion said, excitedly. Xarvis began to follow him, with little idea as to big Zexion's library _really_ was.


	7. Zexion's Library

-Zexion's Library-

"It's just this way..." Zexion said, pointing.

"What, do you have a few picture books, or something?" Xarvis asked with a smile. The little boy giggled at the question. Soon, they came to a door, and Zexion tried to open it.

"Here, let me open it..." the man offered. As soon as he turned the doorknob, and pushed open the door, his jaw fell in awe.

_"How many books do you have?!" _he exclaimed, looking around at the huge shelves of countless books.

"Um... A lot," Zexion replied.

"I guess you don't just have a few picture books, huh?"

"A few," he laughed.

"Ah..." Xarvis sighed, "Well-"

"Oh, oh! I want to show you my reading spot!" Zexion said excitedly. He ran off through the paths between the bookcases. Xarvis sighed again and followed him. Eventually, they came to a clearing where there were tables surrounded by two or three chairs each, along with a few bean bags.

"This is my reading spot!" the little blue haired boy told him, running over to a grayish blue bean bag. He sat down on it and started to sink into it.

"Oof!" he cried. Xarvis pulled him out and picked him up.

"I guess I'm just a little bit too small for this now..." Zexion sighed, then smiling again, said, "So, you wanna see more of my library?" Before Xarvis could reply, there was a loud, echoing shriek.

"What was that?!" the little boy asked, curling up against him.

"I don't know," Xarvis replied, "but let's go find out." They made their way back to the entrance, to find a four year old Vexen scolding a three year old Axel for taking of his gloves. Xarvis had given Axel the gloves, special gloves, to help him control his fire powers.

"What happened?" Xarvis asked blankly. Vexen turned toward him, a look of annoyance still on his face.

"Axel took off his gloves, and burned some of Zexion's books!" he explained. Axel looked up at the man, with the appearance of a kicked puppy. Watery green eyes stared back into his own.

"My books?!" Zexion shrieked.

"Oh, but- I put the fire out!" Vexen said quickly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Axel sobbed.

"Axel... I think you should come with me before you burn something else..." Xarvis said, picking the crying boy up, and added, "Thank you, Vexen." The little blond nodded and smiled. Axel simply curled up against Xarvis, hiding his face. They left the room and walked down the hallway, passing Alex, carrying Roxas and Demyx. They were both about two.

"Atsew!" Roxas cried, smiling immediately. He reached out for his friend.

"Atsew pway wif me? Pwease?" he asked, looking pleadingly up at Alex.

"No... Axel can't play right now," Xarvis said, as Roxas' face fell, "I'm going to stay with Axel to make sure that he keeps his gloves on, and maybe I can find a better way to help him control those powers." Alex nodded, and started to leave.

"Oh, and Alex?" he stopped him. Alex turned around, as Demyx fell asleep on his shoulder.

"Go back home and bring back as many toys as you can for tomorrow, please." Alex nodded, not wanting a reply to wake up the sleeping Demyx. Roxas and Axel stared at each other sadly.

"Atsew..." Roxas whispered.


	8. Lexaeus Wants To Be ALONE

-Lexaeus Wants To Be ALONE-

Alex walked into the large room known as 'The Hall of Empty Melodies' carrying another pile of toys. It was the following day, and the tiny Organization XIII members shrieked in delight as they gathered around him, nearly knocking him down.

"Toys!" Marluxia screamed, and the others began to cheer. Smiling to see their excitement, Alex dropped the toys on the floor. They each grabbed something. Xemnas, noticing a heart shaped pillow, picked it up and squeezed it. He ran off, content, followed by Saix, who had found a truck to play with. Axel picked a blue ball and tossed to Marluxia, who threw to Larxene. Xaldin and Luxord joined in with Axel, Marluxia, and Larxene. Vexen picked another ball, a red one, and began to examine it, as well as bounce it up and down. Xigbar grabbed a couple action figures and pretended that they were fighting. Of course, the one with the guns defeated the one with the sword. Lexaeus, along with Zexion, each chose a picture book to 'read'. Xarvis bounced Demyx and Roxas up and down on his knees. They giggled with delight.

"Are you having fun?" Xarvis laughed.

"Uh-huh!" Demyx managed to say. He was quickly losing his ability to speak.

"Wan' pway wif Atsew! Pwease? Pwease? Pwetty Pwease?!" Roxas begged him.

"Alright," the man decided, then called, "Axel!" Axel stopped and turned toward him, as the ball, thrown by Luxord, hit him in the head, knocking him down.

"Oh- sorry!" Luxord apologized. The little red head stood up and tossed the ball back to him, then ran over to their babysitter.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Roxas wants to play with you," Xarvis explained, placing the tiny blond on the floor.

"Oh, yay!" Axel exclaimed, "Come on, Roxas!"

"Atsew!" Roxas cried, crawling after him to play.

--

Bored with playing with that red ball, Vexen ran over to Lexaeus and Zexion.

"Watcha doin'?" he asked.

"Reading," Zexion replied.

"But you can't read anymore, right?" he said.

"Um, this a picture book," the blue haired boy explained, showing him.

"Oh. Can I have one to? I'd like to see _that_ one..."

"Urgh! I'm _trying_ to _read!_ Can't you stop talking?!" Lexaeus interrupted them.

"Let's go over there..." Zexion said with a sigh to Vexen, who nodded in agreement. They definitely did _not _want to upset _Lexaeus, _who returned to his book with a grunt. Xaldin, who wasn't having any luck with someone throwing the ball to him, walked over to find something to do.

"Hello. What are you doing?" he asked, peering at the book that Lexaeus was holding.

"I'm _trying_ to _read,"_ Lexaeus replied, annoyed.

"Oh. Do you mind if I sit here and look at a book, too?" Xaldin inquired, hopefully.

"_Yes,"_ he answered through gritted teeth.

"Erm... Alright. I'll just go over there, with Zexion and Vexen, then," Xaldin decided, and hurried over to the others. Luxord ran over, panting from running back and forth, from trying to catch the blue ball.

"Want... to play... with us... Lexaeus?" he panted.

"No..."

"Why not?"

"_Because I'm reading!"_ Lexaeus loudly replied.

"I was just asking!" Luxord exclaimed, running off. Lexaeus gripped the next page of his book and quickly turned it. He glanced around, and, seeing no one, returned to 'reading' it.

"Hey, Lexaeus!" a voice said behind him, "Wanna play with me?" He winced and jerked himself around to see Xigbar, who held up his action figures.

"You can play with the dude hear with the sword, see?" he offered, showing him the toy.

"Leave. Me. _Alone!"_ Lexaeus yelled, running off.

"What?" Xigbar called, "Fine! You can play as the one with the guns!"

"_Augh!_ Just leave me alone!" Lexaeus called back, beginning to cry in frustration. Alex, who had been watching Larxene and Marluxia toss the blue ball back and forth, heard him. Concerned, he hurried over to see what was wrong.

"What happened?" he asked Xigbar, who was standing nearby.

"I don't know! I just asked him if he wanted to play with me and he got really mad!" Xigbar replied.

"Did you do _anything_ that would have upset him?" Alex asked, crossing his arms.

"As if!" he laughed, "I was even gonna let him play with my _favorite _action figure!"

"Hmm..." Alex said thoughtfully, "Well, I'm going to see what's wrong."

"Hey, good luck with that!" Xigbar called after him. He knew how grumpy Lexaeus could sometimes be.

"Xigbar!" someone called, "Will you play with me?" He turned around to see Xaldin, whose blue eyes were enormous.

"Well, I-" he tried to respond but was knocked down by a ball that slammed into his head.

"Hey!" he cried.

"Xigbar! Bet ya can't hit us!" Marluxia called. Larxene laughed and waved her arms. Xigbar laughed and grabbed the ball.

"Bet I can!" he called back. Xaldin watched as he ran off.

"Why doesn't anyone want play with me?" he sighed, with a sniff, and began searching for at least _someone_ to play with...


	9. Xaldin Is Lonely

-Xaldin Is Lonely-

As Xaldin played with a few toy cars by himself, the door to the playroom swung open and slammed into the wall. The doorstop did very little to minimize the damage. In walked a young woman who tossed her pinkish brown hair to the side with one hand, the other placed firmly on her hip.

"Hi, dad," she said flatly to Xarvis.

"Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, obviously not having expecting her.

"Lizzie..." Alex muttered under his breath, when he noticed her. To Xaldin, it was almost a growl. He wondered why Alex was so upset to see her, and how she managed to get to this world...

"Hmm..." she sighed lazily, glancing around, "Mom told me that you two were taking care of thirteen kids... But I wanted to actually _see_ it to _believe_ it... and I guess it's true after all..." Suddenly, her expression changed. Her green eyes widened, and she squealed happily.

"Ooh! Who's the little boy with the cute long hair?!" she asked. Xaldin smiled when she started to run in his direction... but then ran straight passed him to Vexen.

"Aw! You are _so _adorable!" she cried as she picked up the confused Vexen, who dropped his picture book. She turned, and noticed someone else.

"Oh! Look at the little red head!" she screamed, putting the frightened little blond back down. She hurried over to Axel, whose green eyes grew enormous to see her approaching. She picked him up and hugged him _very _tight.

"Lady...! I can't... breath...!" he mumbled, struggling for freedom from her grasp. Lizzie gently placed him down, and he smoothed his hair, annoyed that she had messed it up.

"And who is this little guy with the black hair?!" she said cheerfully. Xaldin smiled hopefully as she passed by, but it turned out that she meant Xigbar. She picked him up too, and, after complimenting on his 'cute black ponytail', her eyes widened again, and she placed her hand over her mouth.

"Who is _that... that cute little boy?!"_ she screamed, "He's the cutest one yet!" Lizzie ran over to Xaldin, and he squirmed excitedly. She carefully picked him up and introduced herself.

"Hi! My name is Lizzie! What's your name, you little cutie?!" she asked.

"My name is... I'm, um... Xaldin..." he replied shyly.

"That is such an adorable name! You are _so cute!"_ she cooed. Xaldin had found someone to play with! Suddenly, Lizzie smelled something horrible.

"Ugh... What's that _smell?"_ she groaned.

"Uh-oh, looks like _someone _needs a diaper!" Alex said with a smirk, "It would seem like I need to take Xaldin to get a clean diaper... and _probably_ a _new outfit,_ too..."

"I can handle it, _thank-you,_ Alex," Lizzie pouted, _"I'll_ take him. _Besides,_ he is _so_ cute! How bad could it possibly be?" Xaldin looked up at her innocently. She had absolutely no _idea_ how bad... As she walked off, Axel ran by, followed by Roxas.

"Come on, Roxas!" the little red head called over his shoulder.

"I coming, Atsew!" the tiny blond called back, crawling behind him as fast as he could. Not paying any attention as to where he was going, Axel ran into Luxord's card house, knocking it down.

"Oh- sorry, Luxord!" he said quickly. Luxord glared up at him as he began to rebuild it, only for Roxas to knock it down this time.

"I sorry!" Roxas said, trying to catch up with his friend. Luxord sighed in frustration as he started again.


	10. Luxord's Card House

-Luxord's Card House-

Luxurd slowly and carefully placed the last two cards on the top of the enormous card house he was building. He sighed with relief that no one had knocked it down. But, as he turned, he noticed Marluxia stumbling backward toward him.

"No, no, wait!" He called to pink haired little boy.

"Marluxia! Catch!" Larxene yelled, throwing a ball.

"I got it! I got it!" Number 11 called back He tripped over a stray toy, however, and landed on the cards. Cards and pink flower petals were everywhere. Marluxia sat up and looked at the ball resting on his lap.

"Hey, I got it!" he said happily.

"You messed up my card house!" Luxord shrieked behind him. Marluxia stood up and turned around.

"Oh... I'm _really_ sorry, Luxord... I didn't mean to..." he apologized.

"Just go play," the little blond pouted, "But don't land on my card house again!"

--

Luxord finally managed to build something with his cards again. Xigbar walked up to him and examined it.

"Wow," he managed to say in awe, "A pirate ship! How'd you do that?!"

"Talent," Luxord replied flatly.

"Yeah, well... Wanna play with the water guns with me?!" the other inquired.

"I-" he tried to respond, but was greeted by water in his face by the plastic, toy guns Xigbar had pulled out.

"Ah! Stop! _Stop!" _he demanded. Demyx crawled to them, excited by the sudden burst of water.

"I wanna pway!" he said, bouncing up and down.

"Okay!" Xigbar agreed, handing the baby one of the water guns. Demyx grabbed it, and pulled the trigger, causing an explosion of water, destroying the card house.

"Oopsie," the baby said, "I sorry."

Seeing the look on Luxord's face, Xigbar bent down to Demyx and suggested, pointing, "Let's play over there, okay?"

"Okay!" he agreed, then said again, "I wanna pway!" Xigbar walked off, followed closely by the crawling Demyx. Luxord then noticed as Alex walked by.

"Alex?" Luxord called, "Could you help me?" Noticing him, Alex turned around and nodded.

"Sure thing," he replied, "What do you need help with?"

"Building my card house," he explained.

"Okay!" Alex said, "I can do that for you."

--

Saix glanced around. Everything seemed to _relatively _be in order. He would report everything he could see to Xemnas. He picked up a toy sword and looked at it.

"Hey, I was playing with that!" Axel called, "Give it back!"

"Well, _I_ have it _now,"_ Saix replied.

"So? I had it first! Got it memor- mem- ber- um... you know what I mean!" the red head yelled back, "So, give it back now!"

"No!"

"I want it!"

"No, I want it! Gimme!" Larxene screamed, joining the argument, and snatching the toy away. Saix pouted, then he stuck his lip out as far as he could, and began to scream as the tears started to flow out of his eyes.

"Uh-oh... Everybody, watch out!" Axel warned, "Saix is havin' a temper tantrum!"


	11. Saix Has A Temper Tantrum

-Saix Has A Temper Tantrum-

Saix continued to scream, as he fell to the floor, threatening to kick anything that came anywhere near him. Larxene backed away as he nearly thrust a foot in her face.

"It's _mine_, now," she told him, as she walked away.

"_No!"_ Saix shrieked, shaking his head, flinging his blue hair into his face. He grabbed the mess of hair and jerked it off of his face, smearing the tears across his now pink cheeks.

"Xarvis! _Xarvis!"_ Axel called, noticing that Saix' scar seemed to be considerably more vivid. The nervous little red head hurried to find their babysitter, before Saix could, perhaps, hurt someone.

"Atsew...?" Roxas said, crawling toward his best friend.

"Come on!" Axel replied, trying to hurry the tiny blond. Hearing them, Alex turned around to see the pair running- and crawling- to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, bending over and picking up Roxas.

"Saix is having a temper tantrum!" Axel informed him. Alex gently placed the little boy in his arms back down on the floor.

"Alright," he replied, with a quick nod, and added to Luxord who was sitting nearby, "I'll try to come back soon." Luxord nodded, placing two more cards on his card house.

"He's that way- just follow the screaming," Axel said. Alex couldn't help but smile at that as he turned to find Saix.

--

"Atsew!" Roxas said, "Wait for me!"

"Xarvis?!" Axel called, looking around, "Where'd he go?"

"I'm here!" Xarvis replied, hurrying over to them, "What's wrong?"

"Well, see, I was playing with this toy sword, see?" Axel explained, pretending to swing the toy weapon, "...But Saix picked it up, and he wouldn't give it back... and... then... Larxene wanted it, so _she_ took it. That made Saix _really_ mad, so now he's crying and screaming and stuff."

"Where is he?" the man sighed.

"He's that way," the red head replied, pointing.

"He cwying weally, _weally_ loud..." Roxas informed him, placing his small hands over his ears. With another sigh, Xarvis left to find Saix.

--

Xemnas glanced around the room. He couldn't find Saix anywhere, and he wanted to know what all of the Organization members were up to. He carefully pushed some of his grayish-silver hair out of his face, as to get an even better look around him. He stood up and walked over to Zexion, and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see the Superior.

"Number... um..." Xemnas tried to say.

"Six?" Zexion finished, holding up six fingers.

"...Yes," he replied, "I want you to find out what everyone is doing, then come back and tell me."

"Yes, sir!" Zexion answered with a nod, quickly getting up.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Xemnas stopped him, and added, "Find Saix." Zexion and nodded, and walked away to do so.

One thing was for sure, Xemnas _wasn't_ going to let Xarvis take his position as the Superior...


	12. Xemnas Is The Superior!

-Xemnas Is The Superior!-

Zexion ran in front of the Superior.

"What did you find out?" Xemnas asked.

"Well..." Zexion began, "Luxord built a _really_ big card house, Vexen and Lexaeus are looking at books, Marluxia and Larxene are throwing a ball, Xaldin's with Lizzie, Axel's playing with Roxas, Xigbar's playing with Demyx, I'm here, you're there, sir, and-"

"Saix?"

"-Saix is in trouble, I think, for having a temper tantrum," he finished.

"Oh..." Xemnas sighed, "Then... _you_ will take his place until he gets back."

_"Me,_ sir?"

"Yes."

"What do you want me to do?" Zexion asked.

"I want you to... to... um... keep doing the same thing- just keep telling me what everyone is doing," the tiny Superior decided. The other nodded and departed.

"Xemnas," a voice said beside him, causing him to jump. He turned to see Alex.

"You..." Xemnas said softly.

"Look, you don't have to worry about what the others are doing," he assured the little boy.

"But _I'm _the Superior! _Not _Xarvis!" Xemnas screeched.

_"Xembas._ Calm down," Alex said sternly.

"But... how can I be angry if I'm not supposed to have any emotions as a nobody?" he contradicted.

"I suppose you all temporarily have your emotions back... perhaps because of your age, now?" the young man suggested, then added, "But that _doesn't_ mean that you can just lose your temper as you please, got it?"

"I... see..."

"You understand?" Alex added, "You need to learn to control those emotions again, before you get yourself into trouble, okay?"

"I understand..." Xemnas replied, thinking. Alex ruffled his hair, then walked away. Xemnas thought for a few moments. He had his emotions back temporarily... despite being a _nobody...?_

--

The next day came quickly. Vexen dipped his spoon into his bowl, and then shoved a large spoonful of cereal and milk into his mouth. He thought he was alone in the kitchen, besides Xigbar. But... Larxene crawled underneath the table, only standing up when she was behind the unsuspecting Vexen. Suddenly gripping his head, she slammed his face into the bowl. He lifted his face out of it, and Larxene laughed to see the mess on his face. Xigbar tried to force himself not to laugh. Vexen began to cry, and Larxene hurried off, trying to decide who's nerves she should get on next. 


	13. Larxene's Mischievous Mayhem

-Larxene's Mischievous Mayhem-

"What now, what now?" Larxene sang in her high-pitched voice. The little girl brushed a hand through her blond hair and continued to walk briskly down the white hall. She had only just managed to escape the kitchen before Alex arrived, concerned for the crying tiny Vexen.

Deciding to find Demyx, she hurried to the room she last remembered him to be in. Upon entry to their current playroom, she had an idea, as she noticed not only Demyx, but Axel as well. Walking toward him, she knocked over Luxord's enormous card house, and the little boy burst into tears, after a few moments of shock.

"Oopsie," she said insincerely. Noticing the the baby, Demyx, she approached him with a mischievous smirk.

"Hey there, Demy," she greeted him.

"Hewwo!" he replied happily. He then began sucking on the bottle he was holding.

"Good miwk!" he chirped.

"Is it, now?" she asked, an idea forming in her head, "Then let me 'help' you..." She grabbed the bottom of the bottle and tipped it up high enough that the milk sprayed into his face. The tiny Melodious Nocturne immediately started to cry.

"Oh! Did _I_ do that...?" Larxene asked innocently, and hurried out of the room. Xarvis ran over to the baby.

"What's wrong?!" he inquired, picking Demyx up and trying to comfort the child.

"_Bad, bad girl! Bad, mean girl!"_ he screamed.

-------------------------------

Vexen glanced cautiously around, and looked over to Xigbar, who simply shrugged. Larxene was no where to be seen. Picking up his spoon, he attempted to take a bite out of his cereal again.

Just as he was about to put the spoon into his mouth, a hand gripped the back of his head and slammed him into the bowl. Lifting his face out of the bowl, he groaned in frustration.

"_Larxene!"_

-------------------------------

Running down one of the hallways, Larxene came across Marluxia. He waved.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, just... ah... just playing, you know," she lied.

"You're picking on the others, aren't you?" he guessed, crossing his small arms.

"Of course," the little girl admitted.

"I thought so. Where are you going next?" Marluxia inquired casually.

"I'm not sure, yet... But I think I might go look for Axel," she decided.

"Hmph," he shrugged, and continued on his way. He was used to this, well enough. Larxene continued on her way. Glancing in a nearby room, she noticed Axel, and ran in.

"Hi, Axel," she greeted him. The red head looked up at her.

"Hello," he replied.

"Hi!" the tiny Roxas said, grinning. He had apparently, at least partly, forgotten her. With a forced smile, she passed by the baby, and stood beside Axel.

"So... what are you doing?" she wondered aloud.

"Just playin' with Roxas," he simply answered.

"_Boooring..."_ she said, with a fake yawn, "Wanna play with me?"

"Not right now..."

"Oh..." she groaned. Deciding to leave, she returned to the kitchen. Sneaking up behind Vexen once more, she reached toward his head, wanting to dunk his face into the cereal bowl again. But before she could, someone snatched her up. With a scream, she attempted to free herself; kicking her legs.

"_You're_ not going anywhere... _Larxene,"_ Alex said, "You've caused enough trouble." With a groan of frustration, she glared up at him.

"How'd you know?!" she screeched.

"Oh, just the people you picked on," he replied with a grin.

"Luxord! Demyx!" she growled, _"Vexen...!"_

-Sorry for the major delay! I, unfortunately, had writer's block... But the next chapter will be up soon, I hope. By the way, it turns out that Marluxia's name is actually pronounced like 'Marloosha', just so everyone knows.- TwilightFairy928


	14. Roxas Is Missing

-Roxas Is Missing-

Alex smiled as he watched the small members of Organization rush into the room. However, something seemed wrong. He counted them, then counted again.

"Twelve…" he muttered, "Twelve? Where's the thirteenth? And who's missing…?" he thought for a moment, glancing over them.

"Roxas," he realized, "Where's Roxas?"

"What's that?" Xarvis asked, coming up behind him.

"I can't find Roxas," he explained, confused, "Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Are you sure he's not here?"

"Yes. What, do you see him?"

"I'm sure he's here _somewhere,"_ Xarvis sighed, looking around the room. He frowned.

"No, no, I don't see him…!" he gasped, and hurried over to Axel, and asked, "Hey there, Axel! Um… Have you seen Roxas?"

"Nope," the little red head replied, "Is he still sleeping?"

"He shouldn't be…" the man said, "But, Alex, will you…?"

"I'll check."

Xarvis continued to check around. There was no sign of the tiny blond. Soon, Alex returned.

"So, did you find him?" he asked anxiously.

"No…"

"We've got to find him!"

"I know you already asked him, but maybe Axel would know where he'd be," Alex suggested.

"Perhaps. Go and see," Xarvis agreed, with a quick nod.

"Axel…?" the young man called gently, and the red head looked up, "Do you know where Roxas might be?"

"No… Well… I dunno…" Axel shrugged, "Are you playing hide and seek?"

"No…" Alex sighed.

"You mean…" the red head said slowly, then suddenly panicked as realization hit him, "He just disappeared?! He's never gonna come back, or something?!"

"Oh, don't worry! We'll find him," the young man assured him, "But we need your help."

"What for?"

"Well… Do you have any idea where Roxas might be?"

Axel thought for a moment, then finally answered, "He likes to go to Twilight Town."

"Twilight Town?" Xarvis inquired, "He can make it there on his own?"

"Yeah! We really like going there! We have lotsa ice cream, and the sunset's really, really pretty, and-"

"But how can Roxas get there by himself?" Alex interrupted, curious.

"I dunno… Maybe he can still use those black portal things…" Axel guessed, and explained, "See, when we were big, we could use these portal things to go to all sorts of places."

"Then Axel and I will go to Twilight Town," Alex decided, "Because he would know where to find the little guy."

-------------------------------

Alex glanced around at the location in which they now stood. A town where it was continuously twilight, regardless of the hour. They searched several places- a sandlot, back alley, even an underground subway. Finally, he knelt down to the level of the little boy standing beside him.

"Okay, Axel- where else would Roxas be?" he asked, smiling gently.

"Um… oh, I know! I know! I think he's on the clock tower! Yeah, we really like doing that!" Axel replied, bouncing up and down.

"_On the clock tower?!"_ Alex gasped.

"Yeah… Is there somethin' wrong with that?" the boy tilted his head to one side, confused.

"He could _fall!"_ the older explained urgently.

"_Fall?!"_ Axel said in small voice, "But I don't want him to get hurt!"

"We just need to get up there and see, okay?"

"Okay," the red head nodded.

-------------------------------

Alex pushed open the clock tower's door. He gasped, realizing exactly how high they had climbed.

"What's the matter?" Axel asked innocently.

"Um… it's just… a little high up, that's all," the other replied nervously, "Stay here, understand?"

"Got it."

Alex turned back toward the path across the front of the enormous clock. A small figure sat at the far end of that path, and turned to him.

"Awets!" the child shrieked happily, "Wanna pway wif me?"

"I think I need to get you down, now," the man replied, trying desperately not to look down.

"I wan' ice cweam! We eat yummy ice cweam, pwease?" Roxas begged, getting up as well as he could, and began to crawl towards him. Alex picked him up as quickly as he could, and sighed with relief.

"You 'kay?" the baby inquired.

"I am now," Alex answered as he made his way back to the door. Roxas bounced in his arms as soon as he noticed Axel.

"Atsew! _Atsew!_ Wanna pway wif me?" he screamed.

"Yeah!" Axel replied cheerfully.

"Not _yet,_ we're not back at the castle!" Alex said quickly, before the tiny blond could wriggle out of his arms.

-------------------------------

Upon return, they were greeted by Xarvis.

"So, you found him! Good," he said with an expression of relief.

"Ice cweam?" Roxas piped up.

"Hmm?"

"He wants ice cream," Alex explained.

"Ah, but we have to have breakfast, first!" Xarvis replied to the little boy, whom he, as well as his best friend, appeared downcast. He quickly added, to cheer them up, "However… we_ might_ have some _after_ we eat. What do you say to that?"

"Yes!" Axel cried, thrusting a fist into the air.

Roxas followed with, "Yay!" He trembled with excitement.

Alex laughed. "I'm glad your back," he said, with a smile.

-And so, this is the chapter before the final one. However, I plan on a sequel! I expect it will be up soon after I'm finished with this one.- TwilightFairy928


	15. Vexen's Explaination

-Vexen's Explaination-

Roxas slowly opened his eyes to discover that it was morning. He yawned and stretched, then sat up.

"Alex!" he called, out of a new habit. He noticed how much deeper his voice had become, and how much more room he was taking up in his bed. Then it occurred to him: he was back to normal. He carefully climbed out of bed, relieved that could walk again, instead of having to crawl. Alex walked into the room, and froze.

"Your big, now!" was all he could think to say.

"Yeah… I'm back to normal again!" he explained, and fully noticed that his ability to speak had returned.

"Sorry… it's just that I've never seen you like this before," Alex apologized, staring at him in amazement.

"It feels weird, being this big again," Roxas laughed, "I'm gonna be hitting my head on everything! I'll have to get used to this again."

"Yeah, I'd better see about everyone else. They might be back to normal, too," Alex pointed out.

"I'll catch up with you later," Roxas called, as the other departed. He stared down at his clothes in awe: they still fit him perfectly. With a sigh, he turned to his closet to get a new, clean Organization cloak.

"Roxy?" a tiny voice called. He spun around to see a toddler version of Axel, staring back at him, confused.

"…Axel? You're still a little kid?" Roxas asked.

"Uh-huh. What happened to you?" the little red head asked.

"I grew back up!" Roxas replied playfully.

"Oh…" Axel nodded, "I see."

"So… what are you doing in here?" he inquired, glancing around, curious as to how Axel had managed to get in, without anyone knowing, or noticing him.

"I wanted to wake you up! I wanna play!" he answered.

"Um… Maybe we should have breakfast first," Roxas suggested.

"Okay, Roxy…" Axel sighed, "Pick me up! _Pick me up!_ Please?" The little red head stretched his arms up toward Roxas, with a pleading expression.

"Alright come here…" he sighed, unable to resist the enormous green puppy eyes staring up at him. With a grunt, he picked up his small friend, and said, "For being so thin and little, your _really_ heavy…!"

"I sorry…"

"It's okay… You don't _mean_ to be that heavy, I… I just wasn't expecting that."

-------------------------------

Roxas carried Axel out into the room known as 'Proof of Existence', to find an adult Larxene chasing a child Vexen. Vexen screamed in terror as she almost managed to grab the hood of his cloak.

"Augh…! When get my hands on you, you little _brat…!"_ she threatened, "I'm gonna-"

"_Larxene!_ Calm down!" Xarvis commanded, blocking her from reached Vexen. The little blond clenched the cloth of their babysitter's pants, hiding behind him.

"But it was _him!_ _He_ was the one that turned us all into kids!" she shrieked, "And it was all because of one of _his_ _stupid_ little experiments that, _of course, he_ just _had_ to try!"

"Their not thtupid…" Vexen mumbled, half of his face buried into Xarvis' pants leg.

"_Either way, it's your fault!"_ she yelled, attempting to lunge at the tiny scientist. However, Xarvis swiftly caught her.

"Let go of me!" she demanded.

"What's going on?" Axel asked, as Roxas carefully entered the scene.

"_This_ little _brat_ was the one who turned us all into kids! It was _all_ his fault!" she replied angrily, pointing accusingly at Vexen, who hid further behind the man protecting him from Larxene's rage.

"I didn't _mean_ to!" Vexen said defensively, "I wath jutht trying thomething, and it happened to go wrong. But I didn't do it on purpothe. I wath going to only make _mythelf_ younger. But… not quite _thith_ much…"

"You got a lisp?" Axel interrupted, curious.

"_Yeth!_ I thomehow managed to get a lithp- and who'th cruel joke wath it to thpell 'lithp' with the one letter I can't pronounthe?!" he exploded, "Anyway, I thought thith would wear off eventually. And it did, for _thome_ of you… You were the lucky oneth…" Roxas simply shrugged. He then turned to see Saix striding into the room.

"You're back to normal, too?" Roxas asked.

"Yes," he replied, and added, "The Superior placed me in charge until he returns to his proper age."

"Oh, so he's still a little kid, for now?"

"Yes," Saix said again, "He s currently in the care of-"

"Come on, Xemnas! Come on!" Demyx called as he walked in, as if urging a pet along. Behind him jogged a toddler Xemnas, giggling- _giggling-_ as he trailed behind the Melodious Nocturne.

"You left him with _Demyx?!"_ the Key of Destiny exclaimed, unsure if he should believe his eyes.

"I did," their temporary Superior simply replied, "It appears he is good with children. So, he was entrusted with looking after the Superior while he is in this state. Xarvis will be leaving, now that there are several of us who can look after the younger ones."

"He's leaving?" Axel repeated, his eyes widening.

"_Daddy!"_ someone yelled, as footsteps could be heard coming down along the hallway beyond. Marluxia ran toward Xarvis, and the man quickly and playfully picked him up.

"So, you're still a child as well?" he asked the little boy, "Then I suppose… I will have to bring you back with me for a while, huh?"

"Yay! Where's Alex?" Marluxia asked, brushing some of his pink hair out of his face, and glancing around.

"He's coming with us, so he'll be here soon, Rauliam," his father answered.

"Rauliam?" Axel inquired, cocking his head to one side.

"Uh-huh," Marluxia said, with out thinking, "That's my name!"

"Why didn't you say so?!" the red head demanded, crossing his arms.

"Why, what's your real name?"

"…Lea," Axel answered hesitantly.

"What about me?" Vexen whimpered.

"We already know that your name is Even," Marluxia said.

"No, not that! _That,"_ he said, pointing at Larxene.

"You'll be fine," Lexaeus said, entering the room, a tiny Zexion perched on his shoulder. Vexen rushed over to him and reached up toward him. Lexaeus picked him up and placed him on his other shoulder.

"It'th tho high up…!" Vexen said, his voice weak. He gripped the brown hair of the large man in fear.

"Don't…! Don't do that!" Lexaeus growled, pulling him down and into his arms.

"So, Roxy…" Axel began, tapping his friend on the shoulder, "What are we gonna do now?"

"I guess… we're just gonna have to look after you guys for a little while," Roxas replied.

"You mean we're just going to keep growing… down?"

"I guess…"

"Get back here!" Demyx interrupted, trying to catch the laughing toddler. He snatched Xemnas up.

"This is going to harder than I thought, isn't it?" Roxas wondered aloud.

"Nah," Demyx said optimistically, with a playful wink, "I think… that this is going to be fun!"

-I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I expect that the sequel will be up soon. I'm not sure what I'm going to call it yet, but if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I will say that those still stuck as kids will be: Xemnas, Vexen, Zexion, Axel, _maybe_ Luxord, and Marluxia (though he won't appear very often). Plus, Xion will be in the next story, to help Roxas take care of Axel.- TwilightFairy928


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